The present invention relates to a process for making an improved cooked microwavable pancake and to an improved cooked microwavable pancake product.
Commercially prepared pancakes that have been cooked and then frozen tend to dry out when heated in a microwave oven. The resulting dried out pancakes have a texture that is unacceptably tough to many consumers. Indeed, pancake toughness is responsible for the highest rate of consumer complaints directed to the quantity of commercially prepared microwavable pancakes.
Pancake recipes having ingredients of wheat flour, corn flour, sugar or high fructose corn syrup, buttermilk, salt, leavening egg, shortening, and about 41% water tend to produce pancakes that are tough in texture when cooked and heated in a microwave oven. Pancake recipes having a higher water content produce pancakes that are sometimes not as tough. Unfortunately, the high water recipes do not lend themselves to conventional commercial production methods. The high water recipes produce pancakes that are fragile and that fall apart when flipped on a griddle surface. The high water recipes also produce pancakes that wrinkle when the pancakes are removed from the griddle surface.
Approaches to obtaining a desired food texture have been attempted for food products other than pancakes. The Bergstrom et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,398, issued Sep. 17, 1991, describes a method for improving the crust and crumb properties of a yeast leavened bread. The method includes mixing an anti-staling dough conditioner, 20-to-100 parts of flour having a pregelatinized starch component, and about 7-to-30 parts of water into a bread material prior to baking the bread.
The Matson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,904, issued Jul. 30, 1991, describes a method for achieving a desired degree of toughness in bread. The method includes adding a texturizing agent to bread dough. The texturizing agent is selected from a group that includes surfactants, hydrogen bond-breakers, fast acting oxidants, enzymes, and disulfidereactants.
The Mendoza et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,014, issued Feb. 23, 1971, describes a device for spraying a roll of a tortilla-making machine with water. The water spray aids in preventing tortilla dough from sticking to the roll.
The Atwell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,196, issued Jun. 12, 1990, describes a method for controlling the texture of microwave brownies. The method includes regulating the steam retention properties of a brownie batter. The steam retention properties are adjusted by use of an emulsifier in the brownie batter.
The Buckley U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,542, issued Dec. 18, 1990, describes a method for precooking fast foods such as french fried potatoes for use in a non-fat environment like a microwave oven. The Buckley patent describes a method that includes transporting the fast food by conveyor to several cooking stations One of the cooking stations sprays the precooked food with heated oil. The heated oil may be mixed with either water or air and is sprayed under pressure at elevated temperatures. Spraying the fast food with oil confers to the food an appearance, taste and texture like a conventionally cooked fast food. However, the fast food is not saturated with oil as it would be if immersed in a heated vat.
The Huang Hua-Fing, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,252, issued Jun. 19, 1990, describes a package for cooking a waffle in a microwave oven. The package includes a mechanism for allowing moisture to escape from the package.